Charcoal vs Gray (Grey): How to Tell Them Apart

They’re all dark. That’s the first thing to know about charcoal.

Davy’s Gray is the lightest of the family, then Dark Slate Gray, then Charcoal itself, then Gunmetal, the darkest. Charcoal and Dark Slate Gray carry a hue: blue for the first, blue-green for the second. Dark Slate Gray is also the only one of the four that reads as muted rather than nearly neutral. Gunmetal and Davy’s Gray have no clear hue at all.

So charcoal is not one flat dark gray. The shade that carries the name leans blue, and a few of its cousins lean nowhere. Near your face, that lean is what separates a charcoal that looks cool and crisp from one that looks like a shadow.

Because most of its shades sit in the middle in depth.

Light Gray is very light. Gray, Slate Gray and Dim Gray are all medium. Charcoal also appears on this list, which is why the two colors overlap. Slate Gray is the one gray with a visible hue, and it leans blue. The rest have none.

From lightest to darkest, the order is Light Gray, Gray, Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Charcoal. Nothing in it is loud. Gray asks the face to do the talking.

Gray and grey name the same color. I spell it gray here.

Mostly depth, and a little hue.

Gray’s the lighter one. In a sweater, it softens the area under your chin. Charcoal puts a darker frame around the face, so it gives more edge and more contrast with your skin.

The hue is the other gap. Charcoal sits in the blue range. Gray has hardly any hue, so it takes on the color of whatever sits next to it. A cool blue lean in charcoal can look crisp on one face and cold on another.

What they share is intensity. Both are nearly neutral, so neither brings color of its own. If you’re hunting for a difference in vividness, there isn’t one. For a comparison with the darkest neutral, see black vs charcoal.

Three take charcoal only: Warm Autumn, Deep Autumn and Deep Winter. Three take gray only: Cool Summer, Soft Autumn and True Winter. One takes both: Soft Summer. Light Summer also takes both, but as neighbors of its palette. Four take neither.

Deep Winter is dark and high in contrast. Charcoal is in its palette, matched with Slate Gray. Gray is not for it, and Slate Gray is the stand-in. Deep Autumn is dark too, and Charcoal is close to Dark Petrol Blue there. Warm Autumn is very warm, and Charcoal is close to its Petrol Blue. Its gray sits on the avoid list, with Khaki as the stand-in.

Cool Summer is very cool and medium in depth. Gray is in the palette, matched with Cool Taupe, and Charcoal is only close, next to Navy. True Winter also takes gray, matched with Steel Gray, while Sapphire stands in for charcoal. Soft Autumn is very soft and desaturated: Gray is close to its Warm Taupe, and Soft Petrol Blue stands in for charcoal.

Soft Summer is very soft and grayed, so both work. Charcoal sits with Grayed Navy, Gray with Taupe. Light Summer is close on both: Soft Navy for charcoal, Rosy Taupe for gray.

Light Spring, Warm Spring, Bright Spring and Bright Winter take neither. Their closest palette colors stand in: Light Violet, Warm Violet, Bright Navy and Bright Violet for charcoal, and Warm Light Gray, Deep Turquoise, Light Gray and Silver Gray for gray. A stand-in is not a match, so keep it away from your face.

Hold each one against a bare face in daylight, one at a time. The setup is in color draping at home.

Gray has partners: white, navy, burgundy, pink, mustard and teal. Navy and burgundy make a deep, quiet outfit. White, pink, mustard and teal put more color next to it. Hold your pick near your face before you commit.

For charcoal, no partners are listed, so look for two things instead. Check whether the blue lean flatters your skin or turns it gray. Then pick companions from your own palette, because charcoal won’t add anything to them.